For a long time we have been waiting for them to start creating strong, incendiary action games in the vastness of the Fatherland, from which you can easily and without unnecessary, non-gameplay-related hassle. S appeared.T.A.L.K.E.R. – a landmark project for the entire post-Soviet space. A project of a serious Western level, combining an original setting and competent execution. There were some rough edges, a lot of disputes and disagreements, but the significance of the brainchild G.S.C – fact. Alas, a lonely shot S.T.A.L.K.E.R. could not be classified as a trend – too many questions were raised by the other Russian-speaking representatives of the glorious genre. Jumping from a completely unexpected side – the side of the difficult subspecies of stealth-action – is a studio project Haggard Games, “Death to Spies”, put everything in its place. It’s a trend, gentlemen, it’s a trend.

The original game was definitely extremely enjoyable and good. Not without the usual ailments of the first pancake, a certain angularity, but on the whole we received a worthy answer to the bourgeois stealth, of which the main competitor and inspirer (this is called “outdoing the teacher”) was the series Hitman. However, despite the similar techniques and tasks of Agent 47 and Semyon Strogov, the domestic project had enough originality. The cold shine of five-star hotels, the boundless splendor of theaters, the psychedelic atmosphere of nightclubs were replaced by the surroundings of the German rear during the Second World War. The war of a brave Soviet saboteur against the Wehrmacht army, with camouflage, quiet shots from the bushes, dressing up and other spy somersaults. Addon "Death to Spies: Moment of Truth" showed that Haggard Games – this is serious. Ambitious and promising guys who were not seduced by the tempting opportunity to relax on the expansion. They eliminated the shortcomings of the original source, increased its merits, and indicated their desire for development.

Stepping away from a deep analytical approach and meticulous study of details, we can say with reinforced concrete confidence that the main advantage of “Moment of Truth” is that it gives us MOMENTS, IMPRESSIONS. Having achieved a certain freedom of action in the addon through alternative ways of implementing tasks, increasing the number of these tasks, working with AI, and vast spaces, they achieved an amazing effect. "Death to spies"forces players to think, develop their own schemes and implement them. There is always at least one simple and effective plan – to arrange a furious massacre (at the highest level of difficulty it is the only one). It can be combined with other activities, such as dressing up and camouflaging, silently eliminating interference and avoiding dangerous places. You begin to feel like a real James Bond, who, however, instead of seducing beautiful ladies treats mechanics with chloroform and prefers German military trucks to Aston Martins. An undoubted catalyst for one’s own superheroic self-awareness is the cinematography “moment of truth». From the moments when the developed scheme is carried out exactly as planned, and Semyon literally in a few seconds manages to deal with several patrolmen with an accurate shot in the head, penetrate the object and complete the task, a crazy amount of adrenaline is released into the blood, and the assessment of his coolness rushes to infinity. Fortunately, similar situations arise everywhere.

With a sensible plot, “Moment of Truth” did not have love. Semyon Strogoff’s memories of his operations, embodied in skimpy, poorly staged scenes on the engine, cannot be considered such.

This is compensated by a wonderful https://noverificationcasinos.co.uk/review/slottio/ combination of excellent missions and atmosphere. The hero’s raids along the deep German rear are as eventful as possible and contain a variety of tasks. The brave Smersh agent will have to kidnap important enemy figures right from under the noses of several dozen soldiers, obtain information, steal documents, carry out skillful sabotage, and eliminate high-ranking Wehrmacht officers. The protagonist’s life is in full swing, constantly increasing the degree of action. What makes missions excellent, in addition to their wide range, is their elaboration – in the best traditions Hitman. That is, if you have any task, rest assured that soon additional conditions will definitely manifest themselves that will allow you to gracefully and quietly achieve your goal. For example, to neutralize an anti-aircraft gun, it is enough to simply bring blanks to the crew under the guise of live ammunition. And the wolves are fed, and the sheep are safe. As mentioned above, you can arrange a banal battle. But this is highly not recommended – unlike his staunch “militant” brothers, Semyon does not tolerate direct hits from bullets and, without the use of a first aid kit, can die after a couple of accurate shots.

The atmosphere, with its increased realism compared to the original, perfectly complements the missions. Traveling through the Wehrmacht base, you feel not like you’re at another theatrical production, but rather like you’re at a military base, fortified and protected. The perimeter is constantly patrolled by soldiers, a good dozen eyes are watching a soldier behaving suspiciously, iron discipline reigns. This brings difficulty to the gameplay. A very convenient detail – a combat backpack, in which you can put a spare set of clothes (and you will have to change clothes often), can do its owner a disservice. If they want to check its contents and find something suspicious there (for example, a simple mechanic has an SS uniform), they will immediately open fire to kill. Functional sectors of the map, which is quite logical, are now strictly tied to their duties, and even a high-ranking officer actively rubbing around an anti-aircraft gun can arouse genuine suspicion. That’s why the frequency of changing clothes has increased, and that’s why the complexity has increased. Fortunately, Haggard Games have made an important simplification – in order to take possession of the desired form, now it is not necessary to sneak on the heels of its owner, you can shoot him in the head: Semyon puts on clothes that are not damaged by bullet holes without question.

There is something to criticize about “Death to Spies: The Moment of Truth”. Most of the complaints relate to the technical side of the project, which, alas, is far from shining. The first glaring drawback is the graphics. Even at maximum settings, the picture cannot evoke a positive attitude towards itself. Total blurring somehow hides the lack of polygons, weak textures, sluggish facial expressions, but also carries negative elements. Firstly, no matter how you look at it, you can’t bring a weak engine up to modern standards with cosmetic measures, and secondly, a blurry image is in itself far from cool.

Physics evokes neutral emotions. On the one hand, it is practically invisible and does not cause any special complaints, which means it copes with its task, on the other hand, sometimes you realize that it is far from perfect. For example, when you sit behind the wheel of a local transport: usually he behaves quite adequately, but sometimes he does such things (especially motorcycles) that his jaw does a triple sheepskin coat.

AI – a perennial problem in stealth action games – suffers from chronic stupidity, but no more than that of competitors. A naked pilot lying cutely in the middle of the parade ground is, of course, completely normal. Well, the guy decided to take a nap – why create suspicions, raise alarm, yes?

And perhaps some more glitches. You can’t go anywhere without them. Their brainchild did not escape their presence either Haggard Games. Semyon Strogoff often likes to get stuck in the emptiness of the surrounding interior – fortunately, it is enough to change his position, and the main character begins to move. One day, the author of the lines recorded a broken save, which, when accessed, prompted him to study the contents of the desktop. Only once – for a very decent number of successful saves. Therefore, we can conclude that with the debugging of the code "moment of truth"everything is in relative order.

There is no desire to crumble into a thousand words, assumptions, parting words. I would only like to hope that there will be a sequel, where the plot, graphics, and the enhanced merits of the original sources will find a place, that Haggard Games will continue his hard work. Guys, the main thing is to give us an impression, you know how to do it.

Pros: exciting, non-trivial gameplay; interesting missions; relative freedom of action.
Cons: no plot; mediocre graphics; chronic AI stupidity.